Mechanical keyboard maker Keychron is going all in on wireless with its new Q Ultra series — which will have ZMK (rather than QMK) firmware — launched Monday at CES 2026.
The Q Ultra series will be, according to Keychron, the "first mass-produced ZMK mechanical keyboard series of its kind, offering up to 660 hours of battery life in 8K polling rate in wireless mode."
Yes, you read that correctly — 660 hours of battery life with an 8K polling rate, thanks to the ZMK firmware. ZMK is, like QMK, open source — but it uses a different license (the MIT license), and is developed with wireless keyboards in mind (QMK doesn't natively support any wireless microcontrollers; QMK-based wireless keyboards like Keychron's Q1 HE or the Wobkey Rainy 75 Pro use dual- or hybrid microcontrollers, and still need to be wired for configuration). Anyway, all this to say that ZMK is (much) more power-efficient than QMK, as evidenced by the fact that Keychron's upcoming Q Series will have 660-hour, 8K polling rate battery life.
It's not just the firmware that's improved, of course. The Q Series will also feature Keychron's new Silk POM switches, which the company says is made from a new material that "delivers a richer sound and improved typing feel favored by typing enthusiasts." The keyboards will also have full aluminum bodies with layered acoustic foams and double-gasket structures for improved typing sound and feel, and double-shot PBT keycaps in a KSA profile. You'll be able to get that ultra-high 8K polling rate over both the wireless and wired connections.
The Q Ultra series, launched today, comes in three layouts: the Q6 Ultra (100-percent / full-size), the Q3 Ultra (TKL), and the Q1 Ultra (75-percent). The Q6 Ultra retails for $239.99 and the Q3 and Q1 Ultra both retail for $229.99.
Keychron is also updating its V Series with new V Ultra models, which have the same improvements seen in the Q Ultra series — up to 660 hours of battery life with an 8K polling rate thanks to the ZMK firmware, updated switches to Keychron's Silk POM switches, as well as a new 1MB Flash microcontroller. The V5, V3, and V1 Ultra all have both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity (and wired), and will be available later this month. The V5 Ultra (96-percent layout) will retail for $119.99, while the V3 Ultra (80-percent TKL layout) and the V1 Ultra (75-percent layout) will both retail for $114.99.
Keychron K2 HE Resin (Image credit: Keychron)
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